CRIMINAL CODE 2002 - SECT 405 Causing bushfires

CRIMINAL CODE 2002 - SECT 405

    (1)     A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     intentionally or recklessly causes a fire; and

        (b)     is reckless about the spread of the fire to vegetation on property belonging to someone else.

Maximum penalty: 1 500 penalty units, imprisonment for 15 years or both.

Note     The fault element of recklessness can be satisfied by proof of intention, knowledge or recklessness (see s 20 (4)).

    (2)     In this section:

"causes" a fire—a person causes a fire if the person does any of the following:

        (a)     lights a fire;

        (b)     maintains a fire;

        (c)     fails to contain or extinguish a fire that was lit by the person if it is not beyond the person's capacity to contain or extinguish it.

"spread", of a fire, means spread of the fire beyond the capacity of the person who caused the fire to contain or extinguish it.